Dead Space: Reversal
by AlwaysOnMyMind546
Summary: My take on the upcoming Dead Space 3.
1. Chapter 1: Prelude To A Nightmare

**DEAD SPACE: REVERSAL**

**Chapter 1: Prelude to a Nightmare**

_This is Flight Team EG-9 to Control. We have completed the flyby. There's nothing left; I repeat, Titan Station has been completely destroyed."_

_"And the Marker?"_

_"Negative. Nothing survived this, sir. Marker Site 12 is a total loss."_

_"Pity. Recall all flights and return to base. The other Sites will have to pick up the pieces."_

She walked down the blood-lined hallway, stepping carefully over the corpses of the security guards. A wry smile crossed her lips when she saw it. Several holoscreens were positioned before a large chair; each video had been labeled "Marker Site". She crept slowly toward the chair, touched the arm, and casually slid into it. Her thin figures hovered over the bright keys. She had been waiting for this moment for a very long time. Suddenly, she paused. She looked over her shoulder at one of the fallen guards, a man who looked no older than twenty. She rolled her eyes and stood up, strolling over to the body and, with little effort, dismantling his RIG. "This'll be one for the history logs…" she mused to herself as she activated the device's "Video Log" module. She skipped back to the chair and gazed intently at the flashing screens.

_"Nothing to do but wait…"_

_"Isaac…"_

_The barren wasteland was bathed in an eerie crimson glow. The Red Marker stood tall before Isaac Clarke, transfixed by the site of the damned artifact that he thought he had destroyed. A small figure appeared before the artifact. The outline of the figure grew sharper, and he could see the body shape belonged to that of a woman. She stood solemnly, her face shrouded under a blackened veil._

_He cringed, clutching his pounding head as the Marker began to glimmer and hum. The woman stepped forward, Isaac's eyes widened as he backed away. "Where are you going, Isaac?" Nicole tilted her head in confusion as she continued to advance towards him. Slowly her features darkened, and her face turned bloody as a wicked smile formed on her lips. "It's not over between us, Isaac…you can't run forever…"_

_He stopped at the edge of a cliff, searching frantically for a way to get past Nicole's bloodied visage. They were only a few inches away now. She smirked at him, her words dropping to a taunting whisper._ "_**Make…us…whole…**_"

Bright lights erupted from her eyes and mouth, and the environment was engulfed in a blinding flash-

"Isaac! _Isaac!_"

Isaac's eyes shot open and he sat bolt upright, making Ellie jump back in surprise. "Jesus…! Are you all right? I saw you twitching in your sleep again."

"Uh, y-yeah, I'm fine." He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, the splitting headache he had followed him out of his nightmare. Ellie sat cross-legged on her sleeping bag in front of him, biting her lip before she spoke. "It was Nicole again, wasn't it?"

Isaac nodded sternly. "Yeah, it was her." Ellie looked at him sympathetically, almost embarrassed that she had asked. "Well, if you're okay…"

She stood up and made her way back toward the cockpit of the gunship. Isaac watched her leave, then slumped onto his back with a heavy groan. Since their escape from the doomed Titan Station, Isaac's restless dreams had escalated; the visions of Nicole still haunted him. He had destroyed the Marker, along with his growing dementia, so why was he still having these nightmares? He threw his arm over his eyes, trying to block out the blinding glare of the ship's artificial lighting. He had shed his now dented and bloodied Advanced RIG, and changed into some spare clothes he and Ellie had found in the ship's lockers; Isaac now wore a plain white T-shirt and baggy gray sweat pants. He felt at ease wearing normal clothes, due to the fact that moving around wasn't as much of a hassle anymore.

Exhaustion began to creep over him once more, as his eyelids began to droop…

"Isaac!"

Isaac shot up immediately, smacking his forehead on the open supply cupboard in the process. "God! Dammit…!"

"Isaac, you need to get out here now! There's another ship!"

The pain seemed to disappear as he looked up at Ellie in surprise. He got to his feet and followed her to the cockpit. She was right: there was indeed another gunship. It was considerably larger than their own. It sat idly in the bluish-purple hue. _Something's not right…_ Isaac realized immediately.

"You don't think it's going to fire at us, do you?"

Ellie shook her head. "I doubt it; I see some lights coming from it, but it hasn't moved at all."

"Have you tried making contact?"

"I thought it would be best to have you here when I did." she flipped on the communicator and spoke into it: "This is Ellie Langford, heavy equipment pilot for the CEC. If there's anyone on that ship, please respond now."

They waited a few minutes. No response. "This is Ellie Langford, CEC pilot. Does anybody read me?" Ellie persisted, but to no avail. "Damn it!"

She cut the transmission and strode to the lockers, pulling out her Astro Suit. "Ellie," she didn't seem to hear Isaac. "Ellie, I don't think this is a good idea."

"Said the man who claims to be full of bad ideas," Ellie smirked as she pulled on the weighty suit, and placed her helmet carefully over her head. "Ellie, I'm serious. We don't know who or _what_ is in there!"

"Who said we were both going aboard?" Ellie went to the hatch and pressed the buttons on the keypad. "You better go to a different spot; we don't want you getting sucked into the void."

"Ellie-"

"Isaac, just trust me, okay?"

He scowled at her, then made his way back to the sleeping quarters, closing off the doorway connecting to the main deck.

_Entering Vacuum._


	2. Chapter 2: Lexine

**Chapter 2: Lexine**

Ellie drifted slowly toward the unmoving ship. A feeling of unease crept over her. Isaac had a point; there was no telling who-or _what_-was occupying the ship. Her thoughts drifted to the creatures they had fought on the Sprawl, 'Necromorphs', Isaac called them. She felt herself shiver as she remembered her first encounter. The creature was well over the height of a regular man, bearing thin arms with serrated claws on each end. Dismissing the image, she mounted herself onto the platform in front of the ship's hatch. _If Isaac and I ever run into one of those damned things again…_

She squinted at the small power box positioned beside the large door, tearing off its lid and examining the wires carefully. Getting inside this thing would be no problem at all. She rearranged the wiring, and toggled with the circuits until she heard a loud _creak_. She pushed herself gently away from the hatch as it descended. She took hold of the safety bar and swung herself inside, landing lightly as the airlock adjusted itself.

_Exiting Vacuum._

Ellie's eye scanned the room vigilantly as she removed her helmet. The deck was dark. Only a few overhead lights were on. Ellie pulled her plasma cutter. This gunship was way more spacious than their own, that was for sure. Blankets were sprawled all around the floor, along with a candy wrapper or two. A small cup of water sat on a pull-out tray. Ellie sighed to herself in relief. There was definitely some_one_ here.

"Hello?" she called softly. She crept gingerly toward the cockpit. "Hello?"

The seats were empty; the auto-pilot command had been switched on. She lowered her weapon. _Yeah, that's what I thought…_

At that moment, there were a few rustling noises. She inched back down the hallway. "Hello?" she whispered. The noises grew more frequent, rustling and scratching filled her ears.

Suddenly, there was a loud screech, and she was rammed into the floor. Her plasma cutter flew out of her hands and landed with a sonorous thud. Ellie rolled hastily onto her back and gaped at the pale yellow figure. It was an Infector, a small necromorph that looked like a headless bat. The creature emitted a low hiss, its corrupted stinger jutting out from where its face should have been. Ellie barely had any time to scramble to her feet before it latched onto her. It dug its claws into her suit, damaging it and perforating the muscle in her arms. She cried out in pain as she struggled to push it back, gripping the deadly stinger as it drew closer to her face. She glanced frantically at her plasma cutter, which was about an arm's length away. She brought up her knee and struck the Infector with a forceful kick. It shrieked as it was propelled backward. She dove for the plasma cutter, grasping it firmly before firing several shots.

The plasma energy seared through the Infector's paper-thin wings, and it slumped over dead. Ellie's arms sagged as she keeled over, groaning in agony. The necromorph's claws had held onto her upper arms stubbornly, and they were dragged across the skin, leaving jagged half-circles. The pain was overwhelming, hot tears stung her eye. Suddenly, there was a _clunk_, and she sat back up at once. A small figure stood in the doorway connecting the cockpit and the sleeping quarters.

Isaac ached all over. The thick bandages Ellie had wrapped around his chest and left hand were starting to seep red. "Great…" he grumbled. He shuffled to the storage cabinets, brooding at the small med pack as he hoisted it from the shelf. He removed the worn bandages carefully before twisting the canister open and dipping his fingers into the cyan liquid. He spread it across the wounds until they stopped bleeding, and tied them over with the new bandages. He groaned as he placed the supplies back into the cupboard. He knew they couldn't keep this up forever. Sooner or later, he would have to seek proper medical attention. Isaac dreaded the thought, acknowledging the fact that he was now a fugitive, and Ellie branded a potential accomplice. He had murdered the director of Titan Station, and was responsible for its overall destruction. He felt guilty; any remaining survivors of the tragedy were inevitably lost.

Suddenly, the video-communicator on his RIG flashed to life, and a woman's face appeared on the holoscreen. _"H-hello? I-is this Isaac Clarke?"_

Isaac cringed. "Who are you?"

The woman ignored his question. _"Your friend is injured; she told me to call you."_ There was movement in the background, and a disheveled Ellie came into view. Isaac's eyes widened. "What the fuck happened!"

_"Isaac, it's okay. Just get your ass over here…"_

The screen dissipated as Isaac clenched his jaw. Ellie was injured; he had no choice but to board the ship. He stood up and made his way to the closet containing his damaged Advanced Suit. He dressed quickly and punched in the code to open the ship's hatch.

_Entering Vacuum._

. . .

The woman from the transmission was kneeling beside Ellie with a look of concern. Isaac jogged over, his helmet still covering his face. Ellie was a bloody mess. Dark blood trailed down her arms; they looked practically ripped into. "Shit…" he cursed. He turned to the woman. "How did this happen?"

The woman put her hands up defensively. "I-I only found her like this; I heard someone attempting to contact me and I hid. I was afraid it was EarthGov…"

Isaac raised an eyebrow. She was running from EarthGov too? "Who are you?"

"I…I'm Lexine…Lexine Weller."

Ellie grunted as she sat up on her elbows. "Well, Lexine, you're awful lucky that _thing_ didn't find you."

"What thing?"

She pointed to the dead Infector just a few feet away. Lexine's eyes widened slightly, then she shook her head. "There's some med packs in the cupboard. I'll go get them."

She scampered off, leaving Isaac and Ellie alone in the corridor. "What do you think?" Isaac murmured.

"She seems harmless enough, Isaac. I can't imagine what would've happened if that creature got to her."

He sighed. "That's not what I meant, Ellie."

"Here I am!" Lexine came rushing toward them with a medium med pack, only to stumble. A look of alarm spread across her face as her hand gripped the wall rail. She gulped and took a deep breath. "Are you all right?" Isaac eyed her skeptically.

"Y-yes…" Lexine inhaled again and got up slowly. She was rubbing her stomach. Isaac stiffened as the revelation swooped over him. _You've gotta be kidding me…_

_"Merridew to Base. We've located the craft. Suspect is in sight."_

_"Good work, Merridew. Take them._


End file.
